Advanced modular cell placement system with overlap remover with minimal noise
First Claim
1. A method for refining the positions of linearly aligned cells on the surface of a semiconductor chip, comprising the steps of:
- (a) defining an array of spaces between the linearly aligned cells;
(b) establishing a minimum spacing and a maximum spacing between the cells;
(c) processing each space in the array of spaces as follows;
(c1) if a first condition is satisfied, increasing the space, wherein the first condition includes a condition that the space is less than the minimum spacing;
(c2) if a second condition is satisfied, increasing the space, wherein the second condition includes a condition that the first condition has failed and a condition that the space is less than the maximum spacing; and
(c3) if a third condition is satisfied, decreasing the space, wherein the third condition includes a condition that the second condition has failed and a condition that the space is greater than the maximum spacing; and
(d) adjusting the positions of the cells based on the spaces determined in accordance with steps (a) through (c).
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Abstract
A method for refining the position of linearly aligned cells on the surface of a semiconductor chip is disclosed herein. The method comprises defining an array of spaces between cells based on maximum and minimum cell positions, establishing a minimum spacing between cells, and linearly shifting cells in a predetermined manner such that no cells are closer to one another than the minimum spacing between cells. Linear shifting is accomplished by shifting any cell in a positive direction if the spacing associated the cell is less than the minimum spacing between cells; shifting any cell in a negative direction if the spacing associated with the cell is greater than the minimum spacing between cells, but only if all cells on the negative side of the cell have been shifted in their maximum negative direction; and performing positive shifting and negative shifting until all cells have been shifted such that no space between cells is less than the negative space between cells.
28 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for refining the positions of linearly aligned cells on the surface of a semiconductor chip, comprising the steps of:
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(a) defining an array of spaces between the linearly aligned cells;
(b) establishing a minimum spacing and a maximum spacing between the cells;
(c) processing each space in the array of spaces as follows;
(c1) if a first condition is satisfied, increasing the space, wherein the first condition includes a condition that the space is less than the minimum spacing;
(c2) if a second condition is satisfied, increasing the space, wherein the second condition includes a condition that the first condition has failed and a condition that the space is less than the maximum spacing; and
(c3) if a third condition is satisfied, decreasing the space, wherein the third condition includes a condition that the second condition has failed and a condition that the space is greater than the maximum spacing; and
(d) adjusting the positions of the cells based on the spaces determined in accordance with steps (a) through (c). - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An apparatus for refining the positions of linearly aligned cells on the surface of a semiconductor chip, said apparatus comprising:
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(a) means for defining an array of spaces between the linearly aligned cells;
(b) means for establishing a minimum spacing and a maximum spacing between the cells;
(c) means for processing each space in the array of spaces as follows;
(c1) if a first condition is satisfied, increasing the space, wherein the first condition includes a condition that the space is less than the minimum spacing;
(c2) if a second condition is satisfied, increasing the space, wherein the second condition includes a condition that the first condition has failed and a condition that the space is less than the maximum spacing; and
(c3) if a third condition is satisfied, decreasing the space, wherein the third condition includes a condition that the second condition has failed and a condition that the space is greater than the maximum spacing; and
(d) means for adjusting the positions of the cells based on the spaces determined by means (a) through (c).
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21. A computer-readable medium storing computer-executable process steps for refining the positions of linearly aligned cells on the surface of a semiconductor chip, said process steps comprising steps to:
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(a) define an array of spaces between the linearly aligned cells;
(b) establish a minimum spacing and a maximum spacing between the cells;
(c) process each space in the array of spaces as follows;
(c1) if a first condition is satisfied, increase the space, wherein the first condition includes a condition that the space is less than the minimum spacing;
(c2) if a second condition is satisfied, increase the space, wherein the second condition includes a condition that the first condition has failed and a condition that the space is less than the maximum spacing; and
(c3) if a third condition is satisfied, decrease the space, wherein the third condition includes a condition that the second condition has failed and a condition that the space is greater than the maximum spacing; and
(d) adjust the positions of the cells based on the spaces determined in accordance with steps (a) through (c).
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Specification